The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-08-06

that the creed is not true-let him un.
equivocally declare to his hearers that
the Trinity, vicarious atonement, the
personality of Satan, the resurrection
of the body, and future general judy
ment, with an eternal separation of
mankind, for heaven and hell, are moth
ing but myths, that there is literally no
truth in them, las there certainly is not),
and there is nothing surer than his de-
position from the ministry, and his ex-
pulsion from the church to which he
belongs, unless he retract.
Every minister of these churches is
expected to preach the creed. His
preaching, however mild or liberal it
may be as to form, must not be so mild
or so liberal as to deny the old creed on
the one hand, or to affirm the new
creed Of the ''liberal churches" on the
other. His message must have the old
creed for its basis. In all that he says
the substance Of doctrine" of which
the creed is the symbol, must be as
sumed. He is pledged by his ordina-
tion vows, and by his position as rep
resentative of orthodoxy sacredly
pledged to preach thus and thus only.
And, generally speaking, all the
preaching is on this wise. The creed
is assumed throughout, if not dogmat-
ically stated; and the impression is
made among the people by every posi-
BILE method of appeal and persuasion,
tempered in every available manner,
that in some way they must accept the
substance of the creed, even if in the
form of saying, they will have no creed.
There is in our day very much of this
temperipg of the message as to its form.
This has become necessary, because the
increased culture of society will no
longer bear the gross form in which the
creed was presented in former years
but often, and in many places, there is
still no palliation of manner.
The Golden Censor is religious pub.
LEGATION, with, as it would seem, quite
an extensive circulation, and is devoted
to the maintenance of the old plainness
of speech, as we'll as the old soundness
of doctrine. 1t plainly insists that sin
merits infinite punishment that the
blood of Christ alone can save the sim
ner from this doom /; that the blood
must be applied by faith that there is
no remedy for the sinner who dies with
out this application that his misery
in hell will increase to all eternity and
that these ideas ought to be plainly en-
forced enforced without wincing or
palliation by all religious teachers and
the intimation is pretty plainly con-
veyed that all those preachers who fail
to enforce these ideas with plainness
and earnestness are unfaithful to their
calling.
We agree with the Golden Censor, that
if these ideas are true, they ought to be
plainly enforced, and not merely as
sumed; but whether plainly enforced
or quietly assumed, as the basis of a
refined and liberal form of presentation,
they are alike an abomination. They
constitute an atrocity in the name of
religion that still represents the unreas-
enable mind, and the fiendish spirit of
that savage period in the worlds his
tory, in which the creed was formed;
and there is no excuse for Universalists
to wink at the matter, and encourage
the manner, as so many do all over the
land, saying that the old dogmas are
outgrown, and that the churches have
given up the doctrine of an endless hell
and its accompanying errors of tradi-
ton and superstition.
The fact is, the churches have done
no such thing. They depend on these
doctrines still for making converts, and
urge the principle and spirit of them,
the same as ever, only in more eau
tious manner, and milder form of
presentation. The plain duty of all the
Universalists in every place, be their
number ever so small, is to commit
themselves openly to the work of main
tanning their faith in every possible
way, organizing if practicable, but if
not, circulating the documents and
maintaining worship as often as they
may be able. In this way every be-
lever will become the sign of living
and saving gospel, the light will shine,
the leaven will spread, and the truth
will triumph. j. M.